You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under
chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 173866.

The Brownsville Independent School District (the "district"), which you represent, received
a request for copies of invoices. You state that the majority of the requested information is
being provided to the requestor. You claim, however, that the remaining requested
information is excepted from disclosure pursuant to sections 552.022, 552.103, 552.107, and
552.111 of the Government Code.(1) We have considered the exceptions you claim and have reviewed the submitted information.

Initially, we note that the information at issue is subject to section 552.022 of the
Government Code. Section 552.022 provides that

the following categories of information are public information and not
excepted from required disclosure under this chapter unless they are expressly
confidential under other law:

. . .

(16) information that is in a bill for attorney's fees and that is not
privileged under the attorney-client privilege[.]

Gov't Code § 552.022(a)(16). Thus, information contained in attorney fee bills must be
released pursuant to section 552.022(a)(16) unless it is expressly confidential under other
law. Although the district claims that the remaining requested information is excepted from
disclosure under sections 552.103 and 552.107 of the Government Code, we note that these
exceptions to disclosure are discretionary exceptions under the Act that protect the
governmental body's interests and may be waived.(2) Accordingly, we conclude that the district may not withhold any portion of the remaining requested information under sections 552.103 or 552.107 of the Government Code. We note, however, that the Texas Supreme Court recently held that "[t]he Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and Texas Rules of
Evidence are 'other law' within the meaning of section 552.022." See In re City of
Georgetown, 53 S.W.3d 328, 336 (Tex. 2001). Therefore, we will determine whether any
portion of the remaining requested information is confidential under rule 503 of the Texas
Rules of Evidence. See Open Records Decision No. 676 at 6 (2002) ("appropriate law for
a claim of attorney-client privilege for section 552.022 information is Texas Rule of
Evidence 503").

Rule 503(b)(1) provides:

A client has a privilege to refuse to disclose and to prevent any other person
from disclosing confidential communications made for the purpose of
facilitating the rendition of professional legal services to the client:

(A) between the client or a representative of the client and
the client's lawyer or a representative of the lawyer;

(B) between the lawyer and the lawyer's representative;

(C) by the client or a representative of the client, or the client's
lawyer or a representative of the lawyer, to a lawyer or a
representative of a lawyer representing another party in a pending
action and concerning a matter of common interest therein;

(D) between representatives of the client or between the client and a
representative of the client; or

(E) among lawyers and their representatives representing the same
client.

Tex. R. Evid. 503. A communication is "confidential" if not intended to be disclosed to
third persons other than those to whom disclosure is made in furtherance of the rendition of
professional legal services to the client or those reasonably necessary for the transmission of
the communication. See id. 503(a)(5).

Thus, in order to withhold attorney-client privileged information from disclosure under
rule 503, a governmental body must: (1) show that the document is a communication
transmitted between privileged parties or reveals a confidential communication; (2) identify
the parties involved in the communication; and (3) show that the communication is
confidential by explaining that it was not intended to be disclosed to third persons and that
it was made in furtherance of the rendition of professional legal services to the client. Upon
a demonstration of all three factors, the information is privileged and confidential under
rule 503, provided the client has not waived the privilege or the document does not fall
within the purview of the exceptions to the privilege enumerated in rule 503(d). See
Pittsburgh Corning Corp. v. Caldwell, 861 S.W.2d 423, 427 (Tex. App.-Houston
[14th Dist.] 1993, no writ). You indicate that the remaining requested information pertains
to specific issues about which the district consulted its attorneys and otherwise reveals the
content of communications between the district and its attorneys. However, after carefully
reviewing your arguments and the remaining requested information at issue, we find that rule
503 is not applicable to any portion of this information. Accordingly, we conclude that the
district may not withhold any portion of this information pursuant to rule 503 of the Texas
Rules of Evidence.

We note that a portion of the submitted information is subject to section 552.130 of the
Government Code. Section 552.130 excepts information from disclosure that relates to a
motor vehicle operator's or driver's license or permit issued by an agency of this state or a
motor vehicle title or registration issued by an agency of this state. See Gov't Code §
552.130. Accordingly, we conclude that the district must withhold the Texas driver's license
information that we have marked pursuant to section 552.130 of the Government Code.

We also note that the submitted information contains some information that is subject to
section 552.136 of the Government Code. Section 552.136 makes certain access device
numbers confidential and provides as follows:

(a) In this section, "access device" means a card, plate, code, account
number, personal identification number, electronic serial number, mobile
identification number, or other telecommunications service, equipment, or
instrument identifier or means of account access that alone or in conjunction
with another access device may be used to:

(1) obtain money, goods, services, or another thing of value; or

(2) initiate a transfer of funds other than a transfer originated solely by paper
instrument.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a credit card, debit
card, charge card, or access device number that is collected, assembled, or
maintained by or for a governmental body is confidential.

Gov't Code § 552.136. Accordingly, we conclude that the district must withhold the
information that we have marked pursuant to section 552.136 of the Government Code.

In summary, the district must withhold the Texas driver's license information that we have
marked pursuant to section 552.130 of the Government Code. The district must also
withhold the information that we have marked pursuant to section 552.136 of the
Government Code. The district must release the remaining submitted information to the
requestor.

This letter ruling is limited to the particular records at issue in this request and limited to the
facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous
determination regarding any other records or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the
governmental body and of the requestor. For example, governmental bodies are prohibited
from asking the attorney general to reconsider this ruling. Gov't Code § 552.301(f). If the
governmental body wants to challenge this ruling, the governmental body must appeal by
filing suit in Travis County within 30 calendar days. Id. § 552.324(b). In order to get the full
benefit of such an appeal, the governmental body must file suit within 10 calendar days.
Id. § 552.353(b)(3), (c). If the governmental body does not appeal this ruling and the
governmental body does not comply with it, then both the requestor and the attorney general
have the right to file suit against the governmental body to enforce this ruling. Id.
§ 552.321(a).

If this ruling requires the governmental body to release all or part of the requested
information, the governmental body is responsible for taking the next step. Based on the
statute, the attorney general expects that, within 10 calendar days of this ruling, the
governmental body will do one of the following three things: 1) release the public records;
2) notify the requestor of the exact day, time, and place that copies of the records will be
provided or that the records can be inspected; or 3) notify the requestor of the governmental
body's intent to challenge this letter ruling in court. If the governmental body fails to do one
of these three things within 10 calendar days of this ruling, then the requestor should report
that failure to the attorney general's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at 877/673-6839.
The requestor may also file a complaint with the district or county attorney. Id.
§ 552.3215(e).

If this ruling requires or permits the governmental body to withhold all or some of the
requested information, the requestor can appeal that decision by suing the governmental
body. Id. § 552.321(a); Texas Department of Public Safety v. Gilbreath, 842 S.W.2d 408,411 (Tex. App.--Austin 1992, no writ).

Please remember that under the Act the release of information triggers certain procedures for
costs and charges to the requestor. If records are released in compliance with this ruling, be
sure that all charges for the information are at or below the legal amounts. Questions or
complaints about over-charging must be directed to Hadassah Schloss at the Texas Building
and Procurement Commission at 512/475-2497.

If the governmental body, the requestor, or any other person has questions or comments
about this ruling, they may contact our office. We note that a third party may challenge this
ruling by filing suit seeking to withhold information from a requestor. Gov't Code
§ 552.325. Although there is no statutory deadline for contacting us, the attorney general
prefers to receive any comments within 10 calendar days of the date of this ruling.

1. As the district did not claim that any portion of the remaining requested information was excepted from disclosure as attorney work product under section 552.111 within ten business days of the district's receipt of the request for information, we find that the district has waived this particular exception to disclosure. See Gov't Code §§ 552.301, .302. Furthermore, as section 552.022 does not constitute an exception to disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), we do not address whether any portion of the information at issue is excepted from disclosure under section 552.022 of the Government Code.

2. Discretionary exceptions are intended to protect only the interests of the governmental body, as distinct from exceptions which are intended to protect information deemed confidential by law or the interests of third parties. See, e.g., Open Records Decision Nos. 630 at 4 (1994) (governmental body may waive attorney-client privilege, section 552.107(1)), 551 (1990) (statutory predecessor to section 552.103 serves only to protect governmental body's position in litigation and does not itself make information confidential), 522 at 4 (1989) (discretionary exceptions in general), 473 (1987) (governmental body may waive section 552.111). Discretionary exceptions, therefore, do not constitute "other law" that makes information confidential.